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Log inWHAT'S UP IN JUNE
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WHAT'S UP IN JUNE
by Outspoken on Sun Jun 01, 2008 7:21 am
WHAT'S UP IN JUNE
Solstice will get summer started earlier than usual
By BERNIE REIM
Portland Press Herald
Summer always begins around the third week of June for the Northern Hemisphere. This year the summer solstice will happen at 7:59 p.m. on June 20. That's the earliest summer has started since 1896.
The word solstice means "sun stands still," which is what it appears to be doing at the apex of its trip through the sky. For us at this latitude of about 43 degrees north, that means the sun will rise well north of east, reach nearly 70 degrees high in the sky when it crosses the meridian at high noon, and set well north of west 151/2 hours later.
By contrast, the sun only reaches about 25 degrees in the sky and rises and sets well south of east and west on the winter solstice, when the days are less than nine hours long and the sun reaches its lowest point on December 21.
Not only do we experience the shortest night of the year on the summer solstice, we also experience the longest twilights of the year, because the angle of the sun to the horizon is not as steep as in winter.
There are three dimensions of twilight: civil, when you can still read a book outside; nautical, when it is dark enough for some of the brighter stars commonly used in navigation to appear, but still light enough to see the horizon; and then astronomical twilight, when most people think it is already dark, but if you look closely you will notice that the Milky Way galaxy still looks washed out. Each division of twilight is defined by the sun reaching another 6 degrees below the horizon.
On the summer solstice, the sun will set at 8:25 p.m., civil twilight ends at
9:01 p.m., nautical twilight at 9:48 p.m., and astronomical twilight doesn't end until 10:48 p.m. It is not completely dark until the sun reaches 18 degrees below the horizon.
As you go farther north, some parts of the earth will never get beyond one of those phases of twilight all night long near the summer solstice. That is why Scandinavia is known as the land of the midnight sun. If you travel farther north into Greenland and parts of Canada, you will not see any phase of twilight at this time.
The most extreme case is the North Pole, which experiences six months of daylight in summer and six months of night in winter.
Even for us at this latitude, astronomical twilight already begins at 2:37 a.m., so our true night is less than four hours long on the summer solstice.
http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/story.php?id=190710&ac=Outdoors
Solstice will get summer started earlier than usual
By BERNIE REIM
Portland Press Herald
Summer always begins around the third week of June for the Northern Hemisphere. This year the summer solstice will happen at 7:59 p.m. on June 20. That's the earliest summer has started since 1896.
The word solstice means "sun stands still," which is what it appears to be doing at the apex of its trip through the sky. For us at this latitude of about 43 degrees north, that means the sun will rise well north of east, reach nearly 70 degrees high in the sky when it crosses the meridian at high noon, and set well north of west 151/2 hours later.
By contrast, the sun only reaches about 25 degrees in the sky and rises and sets well south of east and west on the winter solstice, when the days are less than nine hours long and the sun reaches its lowest point on December 21.
Not only do we experience the shortest night of the year on the summer solstice, we also experience the longest twilights of the year, because the angle of the sun to the horizon is not as steep as in winter.
There are three dimensions of twilight: civil, when you can still read a book outside; nautical, when it is dark enough for some of the brighter stars commonly used in navigation to appear, but still light enough to see the horizon; and then astronomical twilight, when most people think it is already dark, but if you look closely you will notice that the Milky Way galaxy still looks washed out. Each division of twilight is defined by the sun reaching another 6 degrees below the horizon.
On the summer solstice, the sun will set at 8:25 p.m., civil twilight ends at
9:01 p.m., nautical twilight at 9:48 p.m., and astronomical twilight doesn't end until 10:48 p.m. It is not completely dark until the sun reaches 18 degrees below the horizon.
As you go farther north, some parts of the earth will never get beyond one of those phases of twilight all night long near the summer solstice. That is why Scandinavia is known as the land of the midnight sun. If you travel farther north into Greenland and parts of Canada, you will not see any phase of twilight at this time.
The most extreme case is the North Pole, which experiences six months of daylight in summer and six months of night in winter.
Even for us at this latitude, astronomical twilight already begins at 2:37 a.m., so our true night is less than four hours long on the summer solstice.
http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/story.php?id=190710&ac=Outdoors
"Music is a moral law. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and charm and gaiety to life and to everything."
Plato (427-347 BC)
Plato (427-347 BC)
